Malin Lewis is a bagpiper, fiddler, instrument maker and award winning composer.
One of Scotland’s most exciting innovators, Malin Lewis melds Scottish West coast tradition with a newly invented, self-made bagpipe. Hair tingling, philosophical and dance inducing melodies inspired by European folk traditions, queerness and the universe.
Having toured in Canada, Europe and across the UK, Malin will release their debut album ‘Halocline’ in May 2024 on Hudson Records. Halocline began as a New Voices commission for Celtic Connections and was premiered to a sold out Strathclyde Suite, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 2023.
A Halocline is a visible layer of water that forms between saltwater and freshwater when there is a rapid change in salinity creating a unique microbial ecosystem. Halocline is a metaphor for being trans and living in a space in between; a beautiful space between a binary.
Malin’s unique timbre is born from the deep connection that comes from making and composing for their own instrument. Their one of a kind two-octave Smallpipe creates a whole new world of sound that’s as lively as it is thought provoking.
Inspired by the likes of Martyn Bennett, Duncan Chisholm and Sharron Shannon their music is as lively as it is thought provoking and sensitive. Recently Malin has been touring with Making Tracks international residency, recording film music in Berlin, learning the tradition of the extinct Finnish Bagpipes and composing for contemporary dance in London.